Ammonia plant to be built

Ammonia plant to be built

Production facility will create 65 direct jobs

NEW ORLEANS — A global chemical company has announced plans to partner with a Jefferson Parish company to build a new plant on the West Bank.

Dyno Nobel America and parent company Incitec Pivot Ltd. will begin building an $850 million anhydrous ammonia production facility at Cornerstone Chemical Co.’s Fortier Manufacturing Complex in Waggaman, Jefferson Parish government and business officials announced Wednesday.

The plant will create 65 new direct jobs at an average salary of $55,700, officials said. The existing 441 jobs at Cornerstone will remain. More than 470 indirect jobs will be created thanks to the new facility.

Salt Lake City-based Dyno Nobel is a major North American supplier of industrial explosives and blasting services. Cornerstone is a leading manufacturer of chemicals used in industrial and consumer industries, including aerospace, automotive and water treatment.

Officials said the partnership will create a combined investment of more than $1 billion and will result in $45 million in revenue for the parish during the company’s first 20 years of operation.

“This is one of the largest economic projects to come to Jefferson Parish in recent years,” Jefferson Parish President John Young said. “This further confirms that Jefferson Parish’s West Bank is well-positioned to accommodate this type of investment and demonstrates that Jefferson continues to attract, grow and create new jobs.”

The new Dyno Nobel plant will incorporate technology to produce what officials said will be the lowest air pollution of any ammonia facility built to date.

Construction on the plant will begin in the second quarter of 2013, with initial ammonia production beginning in mid- to late 2016.

Plant management hiring will take place next year, followed by additional hiring as the opening of the plant nears in 2016.

The plant will produce 800,000 metric tons of ammonia per year once it is online, officials said.